2010 Team Pilipinas Nike Jersey Review

How times have changed.

When I reviewed the 2009 Team Pilipinas Jersey,  there was still a lack of National inspired merchandise in the country. Nowadays, you can see them in every sidewalk store or makeshift bazaar. Almost all local and international brands have stepped on or are stepping in with this trend.




Today, we review the 2010-11 version of the team Pilipinas Jersey. Due to our national team, Smart Gilas now having a concrete and long term program, we now see this Jersey more exposed in Television.

Suntok Ginto

Don't you get pissed when every time the Olympics are being shown, we always end up with a big fat zero? Pseudo "Internet Coaches" would rather turn and discriminate our own athletes as laughing stocks while drooling over the Nadals, the Phelps and the Bryants?. Or how about when going to a mall and seeing people in jerseys of other countries rather than ours.

How about being a weekend warrior and seeing all those folks in the gym wearing the latest equipment, going to a Saturday basketball game with your teammates repping the freshest limited edition PE kicks they camped five days and four nights for. Or in a bright Sunday morning when you are about to have another half marathon equipped with your minimalist shoes and compression tights while you grace away onto your new PR. It sure is more inspiring to perform when you got the gear, support and encouragement right?

Wouldn't it be as fun if our national athletes got even a quarter of that support?

Suntok ginto is a fund raising campaign to help our national boxers get that Elusive Olympic Gold. Sure we had our opportunities to have it (If Onyok and Villanueva wasn't robbed, If the Wushu event in Beijing wasn't a demonstration sport and if Victoria Manalo- Draves was still a Filipino citizen when she won those 2 golds). But the past is gone and all we can do is help the present (and the future).

Final Thoughts on Fiba Asia

Western powers once again proves they're the team to beat. At first I thought china was still to reign supreme because they still have a good intact team with a lot of experiences. But then I was wrong. Iran, not only beating china but crushing them in front of their home crowd. I can say is just wow. No Mid ranking Asian team got beat that bad by Iran. Not Korea, Not Jordan, Not Taipei, Not even Powerade Pilipinas. China also had down to the wire games against Lebanon and Jordan.

And so ends the 19 year odyssey of PBA backed national teams. It is now up to the new batch of soldiers that will represent the 3 stars and a sun. Frankly speaking, I'm more optimistic this time around with Smart Gilas. The team has been practicing longer than the all pro squad and they're still 2 years ahead. They also have a naturalized player and a coach who was the brainchild of the team that just demolished China. Yes, Matic may be the coach, but Toroman was the "Red Auerbach" of that Iran team.

Gilas Is a good program, Do not destroy it Help It. Hopefully the PBA board gives in to help them by reinforcing them with the 3 players from the powerade team. This will help the league as well, since they can have a solid participation with the national team while not having major loses.

RP Beats Japan by 9

(Photo from FIBA Asia Website)


Great win for Powerade Team Pilipinas! Down by 11 yet went to a run in the 3rd quarter to seal the deal against Japan.

These 2 teams have been consistently at each other's throats since the 1994 asiad when The captain Alvin Patrimonio failed to connect in the winning basket. The captain, with the centennials got revenge on the Nihon-jins via an overtime game. The 2002 Asiad, 2007 and 2009 Jones Cup featured the 2 teams coming back in late game runs to win the game by a small margin.

Asi Taulava found the fountain of youth for the RP team, debuting in their new red (alternate?)Jerseys. Same with Sonny Thoss, who made led the team in scoring. Interesting though, Orimo did not enter the game. From our side, Japeth Aguilar didnt even play a single minute. Hopefully he'll be well rested and 100% for tomorrow as they take on Ha and the boys over flowers squad of south korea.

Powerade Pinas Goes To battle Today against Athletes In action

WKU Big man Japeth Aguilar donning the New Nike red jersey of Powerade Pilipinas (Alternate?) Photo from Interbasket forums/Inside Sports

and The Powerade National Team goes up today against the Athletes in action squad from the USA. The AIA, Christian sports organization and is active in 75 countries. At the san juan arena today

The RP Team and AIA had quite a history together

in 2005, The RP Team lost in the Jones Cup against the AIA after a desparation 3 by Asi

In 2006, While Playing in the Philippines, Gabe Norwood was discovered to be a Fil Am and is now a fixture in RP Basketball

In 2007, SMC Team Pilipinas defeated AIA in the Jones Cup By 6 and was tied with the Philippines for 3rd place.

Powerade RP Will suit up with 9 Players, with some of the players injured or playing in the PBA finals.

While the lineup is still depleted, I'm happy this RP team is getting some tune ups it desperately needs.

I'm not sold on the red jersey though, While it fits Yeng's system. Call me Superstitious, but the last time we wore red was in 2002 (Selecta RP) where the country jinxed its last 3 games, the Yao Ming Blowout, The Packing shet game against Korea and that Morale lacking game against Kazakhstan.

Philippine Inspired Jackets Part 2

After a year and a half, Here is part 2 of the RP inspired jackets.

Part 1 is here

Accel Beijing Olympics Jacket

So the sad tale of the 2008 beijing olypics team revives within this jacket. Achieving 0 golds, 0 silvers and 0 bronzes for the third straight time, but having a consolation prize in Willy Wang's Gold medal in the demonstration sport of wushu. Accel, usually on the receiveing end when having their designs compared with sporting giant brands nike and adidas, has done a semi decent job with their recent national team jacket. A unique combination of microfiber and air cool cloth. Accel's design is still on the gaudy side, but it is a major improvement nonetheless.

Nike Nokia Pilipinas U-18 Team Jacket

Remember The Nokia Pilipinas team? The one who upset emerging asian giants iran in the crossover finals of the Fiba asia U-18 last year, and also the coaching issue after that. Nonetheless, this is one of the better looking B-ball Jackets nike has made. Better than their version of team pilipinas 2007 and 2009.

Blue with streaks of yellow followed by a combination of wool and air cool cloth. The nokia pilipinas logo is embroidered on the cloth.

Nike Team Pacquiao Jacket Red- This was one of the first jackets that team Pacquiao has used after Manny's contract with no fear expired and switched with nike. This was used in his rematch with Barrera and Marquez in late 2007 and early 2008. There were 2 versions of this jacket, the one with the sponsors (worn by the trainers) and one without (Worn by the Pac Man). This simple stylistic design was a hit back then.

Ever since there are a lot more pacquiao based jackets that nike has and has not been released. They recently did a launching of more limited edition (and better looking) pacquiao stuff (shoes, shirts and jackets) in Nike's Flagship store in Bonifacio high street in the second week of may 2009, I suggest you guys get that one instead.

Nike Team Pilipinas Fiba Asia 2009 Jersey Review

It's Kinda early for the 2009 Fiba Asia championships but nike has recently released its clothing line for Team Pilipinas 2009. The new jersey is similar to most nike jerseys seen in the last olympics which carries nike's swift system of dress.

But then again, there is a renewed sense of nationalism in this country. From the top level international brands, to the major local brands and the cheap or even fake brands seen in the tiangges or bazaars, most of them sport on a new take, Filipino Pride. Some Fashion Fags and crazy government officials may be against it, but everybody else aren't.

That's more than enough reason to release them on an earlier date and make them available towards the public.

The front



The front design features a Team Pilipinas crest at the left and a Nike swoosh mark on the right. It also contains the name "pilipinas" on the chest which has a similar font with the nike 2007 SEA Games Jerseys.

The back

The back is also similar with the designs seen in the Olympic jerseys of China, USA and germany with the aerographics design at the back. What is wierd with the RP Aerographics is that the Abstract vector graphic design that it used to have is not visible at the back of the jersey.

Shown here is the design as seen in the press releases and the launching event:

Shown here is the actual back design of the jersey and compares with the aerographics of the team usa jersey:

The number Issue
The general release jerseys does not have numbers printed in them (like the Regular release Ateneo and La Salle Adidas Jerseys). However, Nike has Provided a month long limited edition printing events for the number on the jersey. For December 2008, 3 Branches will be accepting Printing services (while supplies last) Via heat transfer printing machine. They will also include a small pilipinas at the back. Bonifacio High Street, Mall of Asia and trinoma are the said branches but it is better to call them first because these 3 outlets are sharing 1 printing machine.

In comparison with the 2008 USA Beijing Olympics Jersey

Pros
1. Similar to the USA, germany and China Jerseys, employs nike's swift system of dress.
2. Still cheaper compared to adidas replica and swingman jerseys
3. Released in a wider quantity and is more available.

Cons
1. Graphics on the back are not as good as compared to the Olympic bound teams.
2. Jerseys are of rubberized material while the ones from the other teams are stiched.
3. Jerseys are not printed with numbers and you have to go through the hassle of going to the selected stores just to have them printed. What's worse is that this is a limited thing only.

Yeng Appointed RP Team Coach (Toroman next?)

Yeng Guiao was appointed as the head coach for the 2009 Fiba Asia seniors national team. The announcement was made early this afternoon by commissioner Sonny Barrios.

The Jet Li lookalike coach come politician is known for bringing out the best in no name players, RP Hoops Fans cannot wait for his choices in the national squad.

Here's Hoping that the program and training can run smoothly and politicians from the other camp will shut up and leave the game alone forever.

On other stories, it seems like former Iran national team coach Rajko Toroman is most likely to be the coach of the developmental team that will compete for the 2011 Fiba Asia and hopefully the bad logo 2012 Olympics. With the current issues regarding the coaching staff of the youth team, it is better to have a foreigner who will handle the team. And please BCAP, for once shut up.

Artwork of the Week: K-Will

Customized Mcfarlane Sportspick - Kelly Williams #9 Team Pilipinas
(from TMAC version 3 base figure)

This is the first time I customized an sportspick figure. I saw a lot of customizers do renditions with their sports picks figures for players or variant uniforms that havent been done as of yet. But I havent seen anyone do local (PBA) Players. I've been doing model kits before but this seemed to be a whole new ballgame. I Re sculpted the face and did the decals. The base was also re designed and the Jersey was repainted in the proper colors.

Help Destroy the BAP

We know Philippine Politics is one of the crappiest things in the world. Its like a demon with 9 heads. When you cut one off, there are still 8 that are remaining. And the head you eventually Cut back will grow back anyway. It is a never ending saga of corruption and evil.

In its culture of mass bribery, traitors and defectors fueled by Guns, Goons and Gold. Even with the mass protests, people power revolutions and political assassinations. Things still do not change. Thus, it is not a guarantee that things as light as Online petitions would even guarantee a chink in BAP's satanic armor.

But if you are still pissed with them and want to do something against the taiwanese spy and pechay, you can sign this petition.

http://www.petitiononline.com/stopBAP/petition.html

RP Youth Team Advances to the second round.

The Nokia RP Youth team Made it in the second round of the FIBA Asia youth championships.

This is a surprising news as they were not expected to squeeze through the second round with strong opponents from taipei and lebanon. The team beat taipei by one into double overtime then lost by 3 to Lebanon on the second match. They went to blow out UAE in the final match.

The team is now grouped with Iran, Japan and Korea.

Group I
China
Kazakhstan
Lebanon
Syria

Group II
Iran
Korea
Japan
Philippines

FIBA Asia Youth Chamionships Start Today

Nearly a week after the end of the Beijing Olympics, Asian Hoops starts another chapter as the FIBA asia Under 18 championships today. Nokia Pilipinas Youh t will battle taiwan at 8pm that day. Follwed by a match against Lebanon the day after and UAE to cap off the last day of the preliminary round.

Cool Tournament logo BTW.

1st day
9:00 / CHN-HKG
11:00 / KSA-JOR
13:00 / KOR-KAZ
15:00 / JPN-IND
17:00 / Opening Ceremony
18:00 / IRI-MAS
20:00 / TPE-PHI
22:00 / LIB-UAE

2nd day
9:00 / JOR-KOR
11:00 / HKG-JPN
13:00 / KAZ-KSA
15:00 / IND-CHN
17:00 / SYR-MAS
19:00 / PHI-LIB
21:00 / UAE-TPE

3rd day
9:00 / CHN-JPN
11:00 / KAZ-JOR
13:00 / HKG-IND
15:00 / KOR-KSA
17:00 / SYR-IRI
19:00 / TPE-LIB
21:00 / PHI-UAE

Beijing 2008 Report Card: Tatlong Itlog? or is it?

And so it ends. Another olympics of frustration, another 4 years of waiting for the next redemption.

The hyped bets in taekwondo and boxing did not even produce a single victory as all lost in the preliminaries. Looks like Recah Trinidad and his genius friends will once again be happy and rejoice insulting everyone on his no brainer articles.

The Infamous post olympic blaming game (now on its 3rd Straight leg) continues. As those in the seats will read their scripts saying "The moment we entered the Olympics, we're already winners" excuse.

However, there is still a spark of light

The Philippines got a consolation prize in the form of a Olympic Demonstration Sport Gold Medal in Wushu courtesy of Willy Wang and was also accompanied by 2 more bronzes by Benjie Rivera and Mary Estimar from the same sport. Even though it is only a demonstration sport, it is still something to be proud of in the midst of 15 straight disappointing setbacks.

It is like having to join a beauty contest, whereas the country always fails to have a delagate reach the top ten, but always gets the consolation award instead. Like the philippines, which rarely gets to the top 10 semi finals but always manages to bag home a friendship or photogenic award. Its a spark of hope, a spark of promise. But in reality, it does not count.

So the RP's First official gold medal is still a dream, Unless they include singing in the olympics.

PTF will Shut up and Accept Defeat

After Tshomlee Go losing to Australian Ryan Carneli 0-1 and suffering from a no count axe kick to the face in the second round of competition, PTF President Robert Aventejado Accepts defeat even if they disagreed with the results.

Earlier,The canadian delegation protested their Jin's (Ivette Gonda's ) Loss to the committee for its questionable loss to the swede . Even with the protest, it looks hard that there will be a rematch.

While it is usually a sore loser's mannerism to complain after any form of competition, and complaints in international competition, particularly to subjective sports like taekwondo, boxing and skating end up futile. There is no shame in filing up a protest if you know that you have enough ground and evidence to show for it. After all, its years of preparation gone to waste. Rivero and Fabrega are the last 2 left for the competition.

Will the Philippines land another big fat zero?

Sadly, Toni Rivero and Tsomlee go are the only pillars trying to prevent a third straight big fat zero for the Philippines. Rexel Fabrega is still there but as his Chinese coach made negative comments about his weight, looks like its a far cry from the medal.

After a Much anticipated media hype by sports officials regarding the possibility of a medal in their sports jurisdictions. Majority of the Philippine contingent fell one by one. Though in reality, the only medal bets for RP are Harry Tanamor, Tsomlee Go and Toni Rivero. The Smokin Nike Clad Harry, fell to an upset by a little known boxer from Ghana.

What is more sad is that Sports had slowly diappeared from the scene of national interest. Before, they can easily be seen on news even if it was just some of the daily basketball scores added by other international/ local sports news. Nowadays, Sports news that were a fixture of daily six o clock news shows are now rarely shown, only if there are special events, James yap kicks, Pacman training montages or an international sporting event like the sea games or nba finals. Sports have now been overshadowed by politics, showbiz news and socialite events.

Forget the Sea games Championships, The Record tying Gold medal haul in the Doha Asian Games, the Olympics is and should be the grandest stage of them all. The Country, knowing to perform bad in the quadrennial event, having only 9 medals in its 78 year participation. Notably it suffered two 12 year medal droughts from 1948 to 1960 and 1968 to 1984. It bounced back to 3 straight medals from 1988 to 1996 with its second silver medal courtesy of Onyok Velasco. The country also had won multiple medals in a single event only once in 1932.

So there it is, only 3 remain in the medal hunt. Two of them are slight favorites and one underdog. While this country only had its success when the prople are trained by non government institutions (Singing, pro boxing and billiards). Lets see if that turns around in the final stages of the games.

Is national pride a crime?

Since there are many people in this blog viewing and/or asking for details regarding the Philippine Track top jacket, I might as well post a certain update in regards to the production of the 3rd batch of the Philippine Jacket. This message was sent by Adidas to the people who reserved for a third batch of the said jacket.

"We express our sincere apologies in informing you that there has been a
design change in the adidas Originals Philippines Track Top (article #
575167) under your reservation. The National Historical Institute of the
Philippines has brought to our attention that the Philippine flag design
on the track top is in violation of Republic Act 8491,The Flag and
Heraldic Code of the Philippines. We are therefore prohibited from
retailing or importing any additional units of this article.

Due to this, we will be replacing all orders of article # 575167 with
article # 575293. Kindly see attached images for your reference. The
design elements are likewise inspired by the Philippine flag, and the
track top will only be produced for a one-time, limited run. Target
launch for this new design is December 2008. Retail price remains at Php 4595, with sizes available from XS to XL for women and S to 2XL for men.

We would appreciate a reply to this email by June 18, 2008 so we may
immediately process or cancel your reservation. Should you wish to
proceed with your reservation, kindly e-mail us back with your name,
mobile number, and sizes required."

So, Basically the old Philippine flag jacket is replaced with a modified version of the women's track top to fit with mens sizes. It also has a pretty cool design and is contrasting to the old loud design of the jacket.




Anyways, Here is article 8491 regarding our national flag.

Republic Act 8491

CHAPTER 1: THE NATIONAL FLAG

I. Prohibited Acts

SECTION 34. It shall be prohibited:

c) To use the flag:

1. As a drapery, festoon, tablecloth;
2. As covering for ceilings, walls, statues or other objects;
3. As a pennant in the hood, side, back and top of motor vehicles;
4. As a staff or whip;
5. For unveiling monuments or statues; and
6. As trademarks, or for industrial, commercial or agricultural labels or designs.

CHAPTER VII PENALTIES

SECTION 50. Any person or juridical entity which violates any of the provisions of this Act shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not less than Five thousand pesos (P5,000) nor more than Twenty thousand pesos (P20,000), or by imprisonment for not more than one (1) year, or both such fine and imprisonment, at the discretion of the court: Provided, That for any second and additional offenses, both fine and imprisonment shall always be imposed: Provided, further, That in case the violation is committed by a juridical person, its President or Chief Executive Officer thereof shall be liable.

While I do agree that the national flag is a symbol of our nation's Pride, Heritage and honor and should not be in any way used or manipulated like what was said above, It is the people and the Citizen's right to represent their country, their heritage through whatever they wear. The concern is, will the National Historical institute continue to hunt down clothing lines that are inspired or have partially similar color scheme and patterns as the Philippine flag? Will they go as far as hunt down and penalize people who want to be proud of their nationality?

A lot of clothing brands nowadays are into producing clothing with national pride theme in them. From independent graphic shirt sellers at multiply, to adidas's line, FMCC's shirts and jeans, new era's caps Accel's Team Gears and the limited edition national team jerseys of Nike and Mizuno. People's Tastes have changed. They are more proud of their brown roots. Fil-Americans and OFW's would shell out hundreds of dollars just to get their hands on these stuff. Its not like a decade ago where someone would be considered "trendy" or cool by wearing a US basketball Jersey or a Brazilian football jersey or at farther extent, Shirts that say London, Germany, France or any other highly industrialized country that the Philippines could only drool about dreaming to be.

The NHI (National Historical Institute) should even encourage people to represent the Philippines. If anyone has the right to shoulder the name or the flag of the Philippines, its the OFWs, the Fil foreigners who seek their roots, The athletes who sacrifice blood, sweat and tears (except the players and officials of the BAP) and their fans, The taxpayers and the normal day to day citizens. They have a lot more right to represent or show it than corrupt government officials or politicians who just travel abroad with the people's money just to spend in luxuries. It is so disgusting to see the Philippine flag pinned to those personalities in their suits and/or barongs, that is the ultimate disrespect for the Philippine flag.

If there's any consolation here it is the fact that the NHI allowed adidas to continue producing the other version of the jacket. Maybe the first design was just too loud or has too much similar elements to be considered being used as an industrial label. Hopefully producers would not get discouraged of this incident. But just be careful nonetheless.

And another thing, It seems like ABS CBN has released a new station ID where some common extras and their celebrities are running around and wearing shirts inspired by the flag and the others wearing flags used in the revolt against spain. A very cool and proud scene. Will the NHI step on it for those shirts as well?

RP Youth bags seaba crown!

The RP team has once again bulldozed its southeast asian competitors this time in the 18 and under division through the efforts of the Nokia Youth team. The massacre's details averaged around 42 ppg. The victory lessened the pain of the upset in the seaba champions cup. (Its a good thing that Dato Yeoh guy didnt do anything to destroy our lineup this time around).

Up next for the youth team is the asian championships. While not having any expectations, the nation is hoping for a respectable showing from these guys.

I just hope they get some decent showing this time around. 4 years ago, I remember having our physical education class being held on the same sports center as the RP youth team. Their coach looks upset the way they run plays and next I heard, the team got beaten badly by its asian counterparts. But then again, those were the bap days.

3 Conference Format, WTF?

PBA Tentative Commish Sonny Barrios wants the lame 3 conference format back.

http://www.mb.com.ph/SPRT20080313119325.html

Bernardino was lucky that the pba had the Big J and the Ginebra fans, including bandwagoners are in full force. But now, things are different. Shifting back to the old boring format would be suicide to the league. I've always wondered What the heck is the difference between the commisioner's cup and the governor's cup anyway? Aside from the shorter imports its like a redundant tournament all over again. Might as well stick to a longer lone reinforced tournament.

A lot of fans will not support this fact that 1. It is disadvantageous to the preparation of the national team and 2. It makes the tourneys and titles less prestigious.

Man, Barrios Sucks. Hope he gets replaced with a more innovative and liberal guy like Eala.

RP Team bags the hoops gold!

wow! this has got to be a really special RP team in recent memory. Not only because They bagged the Sea Games Gold but also

Defeated an NBL Team (It's the slingers, but still an NBL Team)
Mercilessly demolish their enemies including the host team (Take that you King!)
2 different outfitters for their jerseys, accel and nike (First time I saw a team with 2 outfitters and changing them back and forth within the said tourney.
Had the gesture to donate their stuff to the cambodian players (those poor guys couldn't even afford basketball shoes) :-(

Philippine Inspired Jackets

There is now a part 2 of this feature, click Here.

Note to everyone: Please do not ask me anymore about the availability of the said jackets. They have been sold out a long time ago and another production is highly impossible. If you are really desperate then there are some online sellers which sell them for 2-4 times the original cost in ebay.

Also, If you saw my pics below being used in selling sites such as ebay or sulit, then the seller is using my pics without permission, Also be careful because the adidas philippine jacket has a lot of fakes being sold on the net. The fakes has a white tag with an "adidas performance logo" as opposed to the original one which has a black tag with the "Adidas originals trefoil logo" and usually sold for around 3,000 php.

There will be a part 2 of this article coming very soon. Featuring another batch of RP inspired jackets. Most likely in late 2008.

Finally, After months of waiting I was finally able to grab hold of the Adidas Philippines jacket. It came out about 2 weeks ago. And I got it a few days after its release, thanks to the nice people at Adidas. As of press time only very few stocks are left and most likely is sold out.

Anyways, here's a mini review of the 3 RP Inspired jackets that I got.



Nike Team Pilipinas Jacket

This was the jacket used by Team Pilipinas on their heartbreaking campaign on the Fiba Asia championships. It was deemed as limited edition and within less than a week, got sold out on several outlets. The only ones remaining in stock from this collection were the "believer" shirts and some XXL sized shorts. There are still overpriced ones available on Ebay.

Design is pretty much basic and similar with TP's Royal blue jersey highlighted by white accents and minimal red ones. TP's Flag crest shield is on the right side, the flag shield has been used by The old National teams from the 40's to the 60's when the country was on its glory days. A white swoosh mark on the left side. Simple Pilipinas Basketball serif at the back. Retailed for around 2k.




Adidas Flag Jacket

This is not worn by any national team or used in an international competition since the Flag track top series of Adidas originals was supposed to be a tribute to countries who have a rich tradition of football. Though that sport is not even close to popular in this country, unless you're part of some club or living in Bacolod.

The design is great! it shows the Philippine flag in front with the sun-face probably inspired by the old revolutionary flags. A small Football is seen in the lower right area with the PH sign. At the back, it shows the crest flag with a ball looking like a Sepak takraw/ Sipa which probably pays homage to our national sport. One thing wrong here though is that According to Article RA 8491, Section 10 of the constitution; when the flag is raised vertically the blue should be on the left. This was because Blue, signifying peace should be closer to our hearts. But this one had the red on the left side and blue on the right. I wished the design team researched a little more before deciding on the final design. Fabric is thick and retails for P4.6k and 85$ US




Accel Phils 2005 Team Philippines jacket

This one was worn by the Philippine Contingent in the 2005 sea games where they bagged the overall title for the first time in Seag history. As expected from accel designs, they turn out to be plain and simple. But what's disappointing on this one is that there are no RP flags visible on the design. There is a big Philippines text on the back but the embroidery is not that good. The red blue design on the side looks good. This was the cheapest among the 3 at a little over 1k. Cloth is made of nylon and lightweight material.

2009 UPDATE!
There is now a part 2 of this feature,
Click Here to view the part 2 of this article.
Includes 3 new RP inspired jackets